Bancroft’s Remembers

Remembrance Sunday was marked by a moving chapel service led by School Chaplain, the Rev Ivan Moore.  Parents, staff, pupils and Old Bancroftians joined the two hundred members of the Combined Cadet Force, as well as representative from the Sea Scouts and Cubs, as they remembered those who have given their lives in conflict.  Before the service, the CCF marched along Whitehall Road and the High Road, before parading into the School grounds.  Following the ceremony, a wreath was laid on the War Memorial  by RSM Adam Deary, while Provhat Rahman played the Last Post.  The traditional silence was marked by all those present.  Flag bearers were Corporal Henry Meech (army section) and Lance Corporal Peter Smith (RAF section) while the colours of the School’s Sea Scout troop were carried by Elle Lycett and Louis Japaul.

Old Bancroftian Lieutenant Daniel Clack (1998-2005), who was killed on 12 August 2011 while serving with C Company, 1st Battalion The Rifles, was featured in the BBC’s Remembrance Sunday coverage.  His mother Susan Clack, who gave a moving account of Dan’s life and his military career,  said that she was approached by the BBC to “show a side of the Remembrance service that isn't just about those who died during World Wars 1 and 2.”

The weekend saw Bancroft’s History Department lead 72 members of year 11 around the First World War battlefields of Belgium and France visiting sites on the Ypres Salient and Somme.  Head of History Luke Brennand said, “The weather at times gave the students some insight into the horrific conditions the soldiers had to endure whilst living in the trenches but all pupils remained in good humour and learnt a great deal about the conflict.”   The sun shone on Sunday morning as the group laid a wreath at Ballieul on the grave of Old Bancroftian George Edward ‘Jerry’ Wright, who was a boarder between 1907 and 1912 and who was killed in action in France on October 1^st 1918 at the age of 24 (the same age as Dan Clack) as the war entered its final stages.